The Boxing Standard

An online journal of boxing.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

No Holds Barred: Floyd Mayweather Conference Call

(Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman plays the media conference call recorded Wednesday, April 22, featuring Floyd Mayweather. The unbeaten Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) faces Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) in a welterweight title unification mega-fight Saturday, May 2, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. This fight, boxing's most anticipated in years, will be shown live in the U.S. on pay-per-view and televised all around the world, and is expected to shatter all records for revenue and viewership for any pay-per-view event.

You can play or download No Holds Barredhere and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Marley, who currently writes for the Examiner.com, also tried to speak by asking a question on Monday's media conference call featuring Manny Pacquiao, trainer Freddie Roach, and promoter Bob Arum, to publicize the May 2 Mayweather-Pacquiao mega-fight. But just minutes into the call, and after apparent confusion and general disorganization on it, Arum abruptly ended the call, and only right after the call's operator announced that the first question would be from Michael Marley. Arum interrupted the operator with an expletive, and said they should "reorganize" and that the call should be rescheduled. So the call was stopped prematurely.

We spoke with Michael Marley by phone Monday shortly after this abbreviated conference call, which we also play on this show.

"I wasn't looking to make a scene or anything. I just had a question I have in mind which I think is a valid question," he said.

"I wanted to ask Manny Pacquiao how he could believe or think or say that he can knock out or stop Mayweather, because the fact is that, all due respect to Pacquiao, a great champion, he'll be fighting one of the greatest defensive fighters ever. And that's coupled with the fact that Manny hasn't knocked anybody out since November 14th of 2009, when he stopped Miguel Cotto in the 12th round."

We went on to discuss what might happen in the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and why he expects that this will be the first of what will become a trilogy of fights.

We also discussed the reduction of free access for the media to cover and interview fighters compared with the past, how this has only hurt boxing, his many years of experience in working with promoter Don King and in the media, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barredhere and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.